In this next section, Ibn Battuta begins to make his journey through Syria, visiting many towns, a number of the quite notable and recognizable even today, along his journey. Setting off from Cairo, he briefly describes his experience visiting different khan or hostelries as he moves through the dry desert. He spends considerable time discussing one khan in particular, which lies in the city known as Qatya. Here, Ibn Battuta is most focused on governmental restrictions and security, and travel laws. Secondary to this is sidenotes of political violence. He particularly notes the harsh treatment against the merchants wishing to pass, noting how they are “examined, and their goods most rigorously searched” (25). They are also required to pay zakat upon entrance to Qatya. Ibn Battuta mentions that the city is host to a number of government offices and holds large amounts of money, with the income being a thousand gold dinars. Possibly, this is the reason for harsh security.

Ibn Battuta also notes that security clearances, which seem hard to maintain, are to prevent Iraqi spies from entering the territory, hinting at political hostilities and conflicts that we are not completely knowledgeable on at this point. However, the traveler must procure an Egyptian passport heading towards Syria, or vice versa. This raises questions for me concerning legitimacy practices of personal documentation – was it hard to receive? Could it be easily forged? Was it strictly enforced in other places as well?

Additionally, Ibn Battuta notes the rigorousness of the governor in particular when it comes to knowing who is in his land. He goes so far as to order the smoothing of the sands in the evenings so that if tracks appear by morning, they know someone has snuck by and is in the country without permit, and can then be hunted down. Immediately after, Battuta returns to himself and greatly contrasts himself as above these criminals, suggesting he was so polite and agreeable that he was granted special privileges. He notes that the governor treated him honourably, offered great hospitality, and gave him and his crew free passage through the land.

He doesn’t note how long he is in Qatya, but that afterwards he travels through Gaza. The tone here begins to become more religious, and he primarily focuses on tombs, God’s blessings, and well-built mosques upon others. He doesn’t dwell though, moving swiftly to his next section of travel, and the largest section afforded to any of the three – Jerusalem. 

Here, Battuta speaks carefully and religiously, praising God in nearly every sentence. Perhaps he is writing with the thought that God himself may hear/see/question his story or else bad things will come to him if he does not praise him redundantly, especially in such a holy land. However, for as religious as Battuta seems to be, Jerusalem is not the end goal or, seemingly, not a major stop on his journey, and he seems to be moving quite quickly through these places. While he gives the city much attention, he also describes it as “imposing” which invokes an almost fearful feeling from Battuta (26). Furthermore, in Jerusalem, he is concerned almost entirely with religious monuments and sanctuaries. 

He begins with a section on the “Most Sacred Mosque” in the Holy Land, singing much praise of its grandiosity, discussing how it is said that there is no larger of the world. He backs this up with scientific/mathematical measurements, giving the exact length and width and cubits to allow the reader to visualize for themselves just how massive the mosque really is. He then gives the “Dome of the Rock” its own section, in which he is highly complimentary, in which he praises its “loveliness” and “rare beauty,” so grand it left him speechless (27). He discusses its craftsmanship and the materials it has been built with, also ascribing a man-made nature to it, and thus the people of Jerusalem, as he praises its workmanship. Before moving on, he briefly recounts some of the other sacred monuments of the city, and leaves Jerusalem behind.